Richard The Good
Richard De Aucourte, Was born on the 22nd of Pentember in the year 148 of the Fifth Age. He was born the son of a poor farmer in Southerlands of Camelot. During his youth he was subject to the abuse of the wicked kings that usurped Camelot's throne in those days. In his fourteenth year his family was slain and he took refuge in a nearby Saradominist monastery where his faith was solidified. Later he would leave the monastary for the life of an errant knight, until one day he came upon a tarn of clear water, where he saw the Lady of The Lake and pledged his life's service. Youth In his youth, young Richard understood little of the chivalric ways of his country. Though at so tender an age he exhibited all manner of knightly virtue. Richard was noble and just to all below his station and desired nothing of others that he had not himself earned through toil or hardship. Courteous was he to all women and he held his tongue before his betters out of the understanding that they knew much that he had yet to learn. As for martial glory, he wished none. Ever did he desire to settle a disagreement through fairness, calm discourse, and shrewd politics. But when the time came to fight, the boy was always found in the forefront, between his younger siblings and the belligerent. Richard, his brothers, and his sisters were raised in the light of Saradomin, in Southern Camelot in the region commonly known as Auvougne. Their father was a poor knight who had little, but was content in his station none the less. Richard was the second eldest, alongside their parents they toiled long days in the field under the blistering summer sun and endured harsh winter nights under the howling winter moon. Hard as life may have been the family was strong and did not allow pettiness and discord to govern their love for one another. But in such turbulent times, even in Camelot, discord found it's way into the lives of the ignorant. It was in the summer of his ninth year that any youthful ignorance remaining left him. It came in the form of rough men upon unadorned horses in service to the witch-king whom usurped Camelot's throne. The first party rode up to the town of Aucourte on the day of the second harvest. These men were not knights, but low-born Free-riders and mercenaries who fought not to defend the weak or uphold the right, but for wealth, greed, power, and glory. Many of Camelot's nobility had been slain by the king in the coup d'etat in which they sided with the rightful king and many more in the wars that had followed. They demanded everything and they came as they willed for nigh on five seasons. When the soldiers came they demanded supplies for the King's campaigns against Kandarin, whom he had warred with the past two seasons. At first they demanded little though the seasons turned and each year they took more and more until the peasantry had nothing left to give. It was then that the wars had come to Aucourte, which was the scene of several skirmishes and raids by both sides in which many villagers were slain. Richard's father did not owe nor did he wish to owe loyalty to the king but he began to regret the decision of not choosing sides. Then came a lull in the fighting, it seemed all would return to as it was, until the riders returned, only this time they demanded men. It was during one such recruitment drive that Richards eldest brother was taken. After this, Richard's father, rather than seeing the remainder of his sons off to war, he would have his boys travel to the nearby monastery and become monks. Life In The Monastery The road was treacherous and they had to evade several bands of looters and road patrols whom crossed their path, but after long, they came to the monastery at Clermont. Richard said goodbye to his father and was made to take several vows to Saradomin of which he partook thankfully. He did not waste the opportunity his father gave him, but studied and learned much of the world and of himself. After a season he took to travelling with the monks to heal the wounded in the wars, often were they assailed by bandits, deserters, and soldiery. It was during these times that Richard first learned to defend himself and his brothers, with this he was selected to become a squire by an older priestly-knight whom took him in as a son. In the stead of a priest he would became a knight. Tasked with defending the roads from those who preyed upon the weak. He passed four years this way and before long he stood vigil at Clermont and took his vows as an errant knight of the church. He began to travel on his own, wandering where the world would take him. Knight Errant Tales of the adventures of Richard as a young wandering knight. Age approximately; 17-22 A Quest To Slay a Dragon and Free a Princess In The Fighting Pits Jousting Tournament The Forest Princess and The Troll King It was on returning from a tournament in Falador that he at first met the sorceress Lillian, on the road to Camelot. The two struck up conversation soon after, they took an instant liking to one another, completely unaware of what the future would bring. One day Sir Richard was returning from a trip to Falador where he had fought and jousted in a tournament. It was in the forest west of Catherby that he first saw a young looking woman walking past, he nodded and gave a "good day" as he did to all strangers. She spoke up and asked "Sir knight, it seems that I have lost my way for I seek Camelot and have for a long while traveled off the normal way." To this he replied that he was headed to Camelot and she made it known she wished to accompany him there. Richard let her ride his horse and lead it by the reigns as the two spoke all the way to Camelot. Once they arrived the stopped to lunch, overlooking the city. After they parted by the city's bridge they agreed to meet there the following day only this was not to be. Upon the arrival of a mysterious and wounded horse Richard searched its bags to find a strange singing crystal. Following the horse's tracks he met with Lillian, who had been picking berries in the wood, unaware of the time. Richard followed the tracks and Lillian caught up later, with a stable hand, Phillip. It was not long before the two came upon a caravan. The woman at it's head demanded the crystal from Lillian and the encounter turned hostile. In order to save the others Richard fended the bandits off as best he could before being captured. Now separated Lillian and Phillip lost their way while returning to find him. Richard's captors lost their trail as well. All now wandering into the depths of the Ancient northern forests. Richard's captors were then eaten by forest demons - trolls and he took this chance to escape. Lillian and Phillip however met a forest spirit, tortured and trapped by the evil forest gods whom pleaded for help. When the group were reunited they went of in search of the Forest Princess. Soon they were surrounded however and the trolls kidnapped Phillip. Finding both the boy and the maiden within the depths of The Mountain King's Lair they attempted a rescue. Knight of The Round Table On Coming to Camelot, Sir Richard found himself kneeling before the very king who had usurped his country and abused it's people. In secret, the knight opposed his every move, gathering support whilst keeping the appearance of a loyal follower. Eventually he was found out and was forced to flee Camelot in the middle of the night. Hunting A Dragon Sir Richard was summoned before the king and his court, he was told of rumor of a dragon in the north. Richard set out to find this beast. He rode out to Seerhavre where he questioned several locals about the information he had been given. It wasn't until a wizened old man approached him and told him that the dragon had indeed been spotted flying above the Duchy of Sinclair that he had his first real clue. He headed north and found a village laid to waste by the creature, without hesitation he followed the trail of burnt undergrowth leading away from the village to a spot of snapped and fallen trees in the wood nearby. It was then that he realized the size of the creature, likely far larger than most dragons and drakes. The Knight pressed onward, north after the burnt out farm houses and charred remains, into the country of the Northmen. Still he pressed onward, night after night hot on the beast's trail. At long last he came to a cave low in a valley, with bones and charnel laid strewn about the place. As he entered the cave he smelled the odor of decaying and rotting corpses, and there he finally saw it. It was a great black and brown beast, with wet moss growing on it, it was devouring dead Fremennik man when Sir Richard waylaid it. He waisted no time in charging the beast, but it turned and slammed the knight to the floor, they rolled, the beast's head the size of Richard's body. Richard lost his sword and had to rely on his boot knife, stabbing away at the monster before retrieving his blade. He leveled his shield just in time to ward of a blast of fire, as the wet cave steam he took his opportunity, the beast seached head leveled in the dark, Sir Richard jumped onto it's head, in full armor and slid his sword into the top of the beast's spine. It wailed and bellowed as it blew torrents of fire, which turned into bursts, then a flicker, then a steady stream of steam and smoke as it fell, dead. On Returning To Camelot On returning to Camelot he brought the head of the beast before the king. He was paid and his knighthood secured. He rested and in the morning he went to court, where, he began to learn what he could of the other member's of the round table. To his dismay they all blindly supported the evil king. Age approximately 22-24 Knight of The Lady of The Lake He fled into the lands of his youth, the Southerlands of Auvougne. Not a week into his flight he happened by a clearing where an envoy of the Lady of The Lake appeared to him and to his surprise, it was none other than his friend Lillian. She knighted him the Grandmaster of The Knights of The Lady of The Lake. Lillian told him that in his errantry his actions had caused him to win the lady's favour. With the help of this sorcere he began to rally the nobles and peasantry into a force of some twenty thousand strong. They began to raid the King's garrisons and that of those loyal to the King, before long they met some minor lords in the field where they easily won against the false nobles. 24-25 The First Raids Raid on Aux Roys Village Garrison Siege of Montfort Castle The prolonged siege of Montfort Castle was a bitter battle of attrition that began at the outset of the war and ended two years later just before their bloody conclusion at Le Champ Rouge. Surrender of The Garrison at Hemenster Raid on Moulnges Garrison In The dead of night Richard and Lillian made a daring raid on one of the last vestiges of elven troops in the castle-town of Moulnges. The Battle of St. Rochelle-Thierre A pitched field battle where the traditional knights outflank and charge the unprepared infantry of the elven king. It ends in utter success for the Knights of The Lady. The two sides met on the fields outside the Abbey of St. Rochelle-Thierre, the southernmost abbey in Camelot. The sun shone high in the sky as the two armies parlayed on the field. No terms were agreed upon and the envoys returned to their hosts. A contingent of elven bow horsemen at first charged from behind the Auvougnian ranks, however their own longbowmen proved twice as deadly as they felled the horsemen, a detachment of some one hundred knights then trapped the elves between the abbey, the woodland and the open fields, the elves charged for the fields but were cut off by the superior skill of the knightly horsemen. With lances leveled they routed the elvish lighthorse. Then they rejoined the lights as the two sides came close enough and exchanged arrow fire. Finally the two sides marched together as the knights moved to the flanks. The king's own knights met them and were cut down just as swiftly, with few casualties to the true Knights of Camelot. Finally they hastened into a charge from their position on the sides of the enemy who could not adjust to their flanks in time and were crushed from both sides as the Auvougnian voulge men pushed through the center of the King's ranks. Those who routed were cut down and very few of the king's men made it off the field that day. The Siege of Le Faye The forces under the banner of the Lady take the City of Le Faye after a week long siege ends with a breach in the walls caused by the sorceress Lillian's magic. A week after the victory at St. Rochelle-Thierre, the knights came to the city of Le Faye which was situated primarily on an island in the Bay of Entrana. For a month they starved out the city, known to harbor all sorts of degenerates, including dark mages. Now was the perfect opportunity to end the acceptance of these practices which had been allowed under the elf-king. A dark sorceress emerged and challenged The Grail Sorceress Lillian before the walls. Lillian emerged and shone a great ray of light from the sky. The dark sorceress responded with a torrent of lightning, rain, and thunder. Lillian waved her hand and the sky cleared and the birds sang, then she rocked the ocean and a section of the bridge to the city broke off into the sea she shook the walls upon which the dark sorceress stood with the power of the sea. The unamed magician shot lightning bolts and fire as Lillian responded in kind before deflecting one such bolt into the wall under the sorceress who did not move in time, she fell into the raging sea and drowned. As the Auvougian's repaired the bridge and prepared to assault the breach, a white flag was raised above the walls. Le Champ Rouge (The Red Field) The Lady's forces crush through the heart of the usurper king's center lines from behind after a nearly day long struggle between voulge infantry had resulted in a bloody stalemate. The knights finally are able to flank the foe and finish them from behind. As the wicked men flee they are cut to ribbons. This was the final battle before the king's attention was brought to the uprising of the South, but by this time he had abdicated the throne and the new king, Tommen, was truly deserving of the throne. Duke of The Southerlands At the age of 25 Richard was named Duke of the Southerlands by the sorceress Lillian, which he renamed Auvougne. He then wedded Lillian and she was soon with child. Richard set to work healing the wounds of the land long ravaged by the unjust wars of the elven king. When Lillian gave birth to a healthy boy, the line was secured and they set to work governing Auvougne. They looked after all it's people and were fair and just rulers. Some years past and Richard's son, Jean, came of age. Upon hearing this news many of the human barons loyal to the old elven king tried to rise against Richard and his wife, for they could no longer abuse their titles with impunity. Richard and Jean met them on the field at The Battle of Rouencourt where the rebel barons were summarily defeated and many of the evil lords were put to the sword. Their stain upon the land forever erased. The Battle of Rouencourte It was a sunny day near a small hamlet in the central southerlands. The two armies met on an open grassy plain overlooking a river and bordered by trees. The bowmen exchanged fire first before the mounted knights made a charge straight into the center of the enemy lines. After an hour of combat the battle was decided, a decisive victory for Duke Richard. Presentation of the rebels sword to King Tommen Richard then road to Camelot to present the king with the vanquished foe's sword. Richard was honored personally with a place in Tommen's personal retinue. The Castle of Rouencourte After the victory at Rouencourte, Richard began the construction of a castle beside the nearby village. This was to be the seat of power in the Duchy for many centuries to come. The King in Auvougne After several years of peace and the abdication of the throne by King Tommen, a friend of Richard, raises the question of succession. As there was no rightful heir, Richard is pressured to take the throne by those loyal to him. Richard is crowned as King in Auvougne, however trouble and territorial disputes in the Northern Marches between the Camelites and the Northern Clans prevents Richard from claiming the full title of King of Auvougne.Category:Humans Category:Knight Category:Noble Category:Kandarin Category:Warrior Category:Commander Category:Warlord Category:Royalty Category:Good Category:Lawful